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BY ROBERT SWIFT (HARRISBURG BUREAU CHIEF)
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Published: April 2, 2013

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HARRISBURG - Gov. Tom Corbett is scheduled to discuss the pros and cons of an expansion of Medicaid coverage in Pennsylvania today with a top Washington official, a potential turning point in one of the most contentious state budget-related issues facing resolution during the next several months.

Mr. Corbett's private meeting with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will focus on whether Pennsylvania should add hundreds of thousands of low-income Pennsylvanians to Medicaid rolls under the 2010 federal Affordable Care Act.

The meeting will be a discussion and no formal presentations are planned, said Corbett spokesman Kevin Harley.

Medicaid is the joint federal-state insurance program for the poor. An expansion, which is optional for states, would involve widening Medicaid's income eligibility guidelines to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, or $31,300 for a family of four.

During his budget address in February, Mr. Corbett said he couldn't recommend a dramatic Medicaid expansion.

"At this time without serious reforms, it would be financially unsustainable for taxpayers," he said.

But Mr. Corbett has left the door open to reconsidering his decision if Ms. Sebelius offers some flexibility on how Pennsylvania would manage an expansion.

The federal government would pay 100 percent of the Medicaid expansion for the first three years and 90 percent of the costs after that. Mr. Corbett has said a 10 percent share would still mean a sizeable state funding commitment.

A study released last week by the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania suggested that opting for expansion will lead to health insurance coverage for up to 350,000 low-income, non-elderly Pennsylvanians.

The study by a unit of the RAND Corp. was paid for by the American Hospital Association.

An expansion will bring up to $2.5 billion annually in federal payments to the state, generate about $3 billion annually in economic activity and help support up to 39,000 jobs, according to the study.

"The bottom line is Medicaid expansion benefits the state's economy, provides a lifeline to Pennsylvania's most-vulnerable citizens and is crucial to the fiscal health of Pennsylvania's safety net," said Paula Bussard, HAP senior vice president.

The governor has faced steady calls from Senate Democratic leaders to change his position on Medicaid expansion.

Medicaid expansion will create jobs and help reduce a state unemployment rate that has been higher than the national rate in recent months, said Mr. Costa.

A group of House Republican lawmakers said an expansion will hurt patients and doctors. House Majority Whip Stan Saylor, R-94, Red Lion, has sponsored a resolution to turn the Medicaid program into a federal block grant.

Contact the writer: rswift@timesshamrock.com

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